Oar guard



April 1968 c. P. CHALCROFT 3,376,589

OAR GUARD Filed Sept. 20, 1966 FIG, Q.

IN V EN TOR. 09464 55 P. (vs 44650 7;

United States Patent Ofiice 3,376,580 Patented Apr. 9, 1968 3,376,589OAR GUARD Charles P. Chalcroft, 815 25th Ave. W., Eugene, Oreg. 97405Filed Sept. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 580,750 2 Claims. (Cl. 926) ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE An oar guard for use in conjunction with an oar and anoarlock, the guard having a flexible body portion with its mid-portionengaged with the oarlock and its extremities engaging the oar onopposite sides of the oar lock to exert a balanced force thereon in thedirection of the oarlock.

This invention pertains to means for securing a cylindrical element toan annular element, or the like, and more particularly to an improvedmeans for the operative association of an oar or similar boat propulsionmeans and an oar lock.

Among the important objects and advantages of this invention are theprovision of a novel component in the nature of an oar guard,functioning to maintain a selected connection between an oar and anoarlock, one which prevents the oar from unintentionally falling fromthe oarlock, reduces noise in rowing, and prevents twisting of the oarduring rowing.

It has been previously proposed to effect a noise reduction in rowing bythe expedient of connecting an oar to an oarlock with a sleeve ofsound-deadening material positioned about the oar. This constituted animprovement over the simple oar-oarlock connection theretofore in use,but was difiicult to install and replace, and made removal of the oarquite diflicult. The present invention provides a means for a secureconnection between an oar and oarlock which is unlikely to beinadvertently disconnected, but is susceptible of replacement or removalwithout difficulty.

Another objective of importance concerns the provision of an elongateddevice connected to an oarlock intermediate its ends and connected to anoar at its ends on opposite sides of the oarlock, the device being ofresilient form, whereby the ends evert inward force on the oar onopposite sides of the oarlock to maintain it in place,

but permit deflection for maximum convenience and.

efliciency in rowing.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of thefollowing specification, when read in conjunction with the annexeddrawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspectiev view showing an oar guard of this invention ina typical environment of use;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged top plan View of an oarlock and oar constructedin accordance with the teachings of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the oar guard disassociated from theoarlock and oar; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 ofFIGURE 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawing in more detail and initially to FIGURE 3, apreferred form of the oar guard hereof is therein shown in top plan asit appears prior to installation on an oar and oarlock. The guard 10 isformed of a resilient or semi-flexible material of suitable durabilityto withstand vigorous use as encountered in rowing, examples beingrubber, belting, plastic, spring metal, and the like. The guard 10comprises a main body portion 12 having ends 14, 16, sides 18, 20 andupper and lower faces 22 and 24, respectively. The ends 14 and 16delineate the extremities of end portions 14, 16, and for purposes ofdescription, the device may be said to include a central portion 25intermediate said end portions.

At a location substantially central of the ends 14 and 16 and withinsaid central portion 25, an oarlock shaft opening 26 is formed in thebody portion and extends therethrough from face to face. A pair ofenlarged oar openings 28 and 30 are formed in the end portions of thebody portion at substantially equidistantly spaced positions on eitherside of the opening 26. Each of the openings 26, 28 and 30 havesubstantially aligned centers, and as appears in more detail below, theoar openings are adapted for disposition in such manner that theircenters are substantially perpendicular to the center of the opening 26.

The guard 10 is used in combination with an oar lock 32 comprising ashaft 34 having a depth controlling boss 36 intermediate its ends, andhaving a yoke 38 (annular or otherwise shaped to engage an oar) at itsupper end. In normal use of the oarlock in the absence of the inventiondevice, the oar 40 is extended through the yoke 38 and is loosely heldtherein, being allowed to slide freely.

The present invention contemplates the extension of the shaft 34 of theoarlock 32 through the opening 26, and the extension of the oar 40through the openings 28 and 30 and through the yoke 38. The oarlockshaft 34 is then positioned in the opening provided therefor in the sideof the boat, thereby clamping the guard between the oarlock and theboat. In such position, as shown in FIGURE 4, the oar is substantiallyisolated from probable contact with the side of the boat during rowing,and is protected from falling from the oarlock by virtue of itsfrictional contact with the guard 10. The end portions of the guardexert a constant downward force on the oar on opposite sides of theyoke, thus maintaining the oar in a constant, balanced location andstatus.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the invention combines aguard with an oarlock and oar in such manner as to reduce noise and tosecure the oar in desired position without interference with its normalrowing function. It is further possible to select the relative inwardextension of the oar and to control its position during non-use by theposition of such extension.

Having described and illustrated an embodiment of this invention in somedetail, it will be understood that this description and illustrationhave been oifered only by way of example, and that the invention is tobe limited in scope only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination, with an oarlock and oar for a boat having a sidewith an oarlock opening therein, the oarlock including a shaft and ayoke with the oar extended through the yoke, and the shaft being mountedin the oarlock opening for pivotal movement and for vertical slidingmovement, of an oar guard comprising:

a body portion formed of resilient material;

the body portion having end portions and a central portion;

the central portion having an opening therein, the oarlock shaftextending through said opening whereby the body portion is disposedbetween the side of the boat and the yoke; and

the end portions of the oar guard body portion engaging the oar onopposite sides of the yoke to resiliently support the oar in a selectedposition with References Cited respect the Yoke- UNITED STATES PATENTS2. The combination of claim 1, wherein: 2 446 282 8/1948 H t 484 th b dto d to are u wardl curved; r

y en pm 1 p y 5 2,520,558 8/1950 Norman 9-26 each of said end portionshas an opening formed 2'602172 7/1952 Messman therein, the oar beingextended through said last- 21861822 1/1959 Downs 2,987,736 6/1961 Wolff9-26 named openings and yoke whereby the end portions engage the oar andmaintain it normally in a preset position, permitting deflectiontherefrom in a 10 FERGUS MIDDLETON Prlmary Exammer rowing operation. I.PITTENGER, Assistant Examiner.

